Blood Red Shoes ‘In Time To Voices’

Laura-Mary Carter and Steven Ansell return this year with their 3rd album, ‘In Time To Voices’. Recorded at The Motor Museum in Liverpool with old comrade and co-producer Mike Crossey (Arctic Monkeys, Foals, Tribes), this new offering promises a bold, defiant return, which Carter describes as “ambitious” and “shooting for the stars”. Rebecca Atkinson gives it a First Listen…

‘In Time To Voices’
Ethereal vocals and a steady drum beat herald the album’s title track, which channels the electronic elements of Yeah Yeah Yeahs’ ‘It’s Blitz’. Its chorus, “How long?/How long ‘til I feel stronger?/How long?/How long, slipping back under” nails the mood, which flits between despondency and hope as schizophrenically as it shifts between loud and soft.

‘Lost Kids’
‘Lost Kids’’ upbeat, hooky pop melody is punctured by Anstell’s despairing cries of “And I can’t find my way/Already buried anyway” forming the basis of a chorus which does sound dangerously like The Subways at times.

‘Cold’

The first single from the album, ‘Cold’ is percussion-led and full of labouring guitars alongside a sultry vocal from Carter.  Unusually underpinned by a hip-hop-aping beat, their trademark scuzz and an off kilter drum rhythm points in a different direction for the band.

‘Two Dead Minutes’
‘Two Dead Minutes’ is the first moment of the album that doesn’t feel like a consciously constructed single; gentle vocal harmonies, reverb and a subtle use of a shaker make this a slow, shoegazey burner. The song almost fizzles out completely before the percussion injects some venom back in for the final minute. While it may not be the most memorable track on the album, it is an exercise in restraint, and one that shows their darker, more sinister potential.

‘The Silence And The Drones’
Apt title, this. A lost soul pleads imploringly “Won’t you let me please forget” amid a desolate soundscape, Carter’s sombre vocal display backed by a distorted guitar, whilst chilling lyrics like “His eyes showing defeat/A record on repeat/A soul that never sleeps/His heart grows old and weeps” soar when mournful strings enter for the final 30 seconds, rising and falling beautifully and providing a sense of grandeur amongst the gloom.

‘Night Light’
A slightly claustrophobic acoustic number with a morbid refrain “It’s the ghost you made of me”, , ‘Night Light’’s three minutes never really erupt.

‘Je Me Perds’
Translated as “I get lost”, ‘Je Me Perds’ is a welcome injection of aggression highlighting Blood Red Shoes at their most forceful. It compellingly combines Sonic Youth distortion, punchy vocals and (heaven forbid!) swearing. At just one and a half minutes it’s a reminder that despite their newfound restraint, Blood Red Shoes can still do brilliantly bombastic punk rock.

‘Stop Kicking’
‘Stop Kicking’ takes a while to ignite, but at about 90 seconds in we’re allowed to see some of that ambition Carter promised. Layering discordant guitars, driving drums and Ansell’s dominant male vocal over Carter’s Warpaint-esque mantra, while ‘Stop Kicking’ does occasionally feel a little like two tracks on top of each other somehow the disparity works… on record at least.

‘Slip Into Blue’
With sweeping guitar licks and plenty of reserved cymbal slaps, ‘Slip Into Blue’ shimmers along pleasantly until around two and a half minutes in where the drum rattle explodes, building to a hypnotic and understated finale.

‘Down Here In The Dark’
‘Down Here In The Dark’ is a meatier proposition right from its strutting, Fugazi-inspired intro. With such a fully-formed sound, it at times sounds like a five-piece are at work, tension building gradually courtesy of some of the best guitar work on the record and several cacophonous rolling drum rhythms accompanying the Weezer-like vocals. It’s a weighty number, but as with much of the material on previous album ‘Fire Like This’ it relies heavily on repetition and musical looping to build to some form of conclusion.

‘7 Years’
A well-executed loud vs. soft dynamic and heavy drumming are coupled with the incantatory warbling of Carter, her vocals building up a sense of tension, before the final warped guitar chord rings out resolutely. A more grown-up, downcast sound, ‘In Time To Voices’ feels like an ambitious step up, whilst still retaining elements of both its contemplative predecessor and their earlier, punk enthused efforts.

‘In Time To Voices’ will be reviewed in the March issue of The Fly.